Registering, managing, and communicating with iot devices using domain name system processes

ABSTRACT

Provided herein is a method for registering an IoT device with a DNS registry. The method can include obtaining, at a DNS server, an identifier, IP address, and a public key of an asymmetric key pair associated with the IoT device from a network gateway device that is in communication with the IoT device, wherein the asymmetric key pair is provisioned onto the IoT device and an associated private key stored within a memory of the IoT device at a time that IoT device is manufactured or during a predetermined time window after manufacturing; creating at least one DNS record for the IoT device; assigning a domain name associated with the internet protocol (“IP”) address to the IoT device; storing the identifier, IP address, the domain name, and the public key in the at least one DNS record; and providing confirmation of the registration to the IoT device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application titled,“REGISTERING, MANAGING, AND COMMUNICATING WITH IOT DEVICES USING DOMAINNAME SYSTEM PROCESSES,” filed on Sep. 11, 2017 and having Ser. No.15/701,408, which is a Divisional of U.S. patent application titled,“REGISTERING, MANAGING, AND COMMUNICATING WITH IOT DEVICES USING DOMAINNAME SYSTEM PROCESSES,” filed on Jan. 9, 2015 and having Ser. No.14/593,919, which issued on Sep. 12, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,762,556.The subject matter of these related applications is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The use of the Internet for purposes that extend beyond the currentmodel of Web browsers interacting with Websites is growing rapidly. Inparticular, many devices are now being exposed on the Internet so as toenable interactions with those devices from devices and applicationsthat are also connected to the Internet. As a result of this increasingusage of the Internet for interaction with connected devices, commonlycalled the Internet of Things (IOT), there is a growing demand fortechnology that enables these interactions to be performed securely in away that protects the privacy of the data being exchanged in theinteractions.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, a method for registering an internet of things (“IoT”)device with a domain name system (“DNS”) registry is disclosed. Themethod can comprise obtaining, at a DNS server, an identifier, IPaddress, and a public key of an asymmetric key pair associated with theIoT device from a network gateway device that is in communication withthe IoT device, wherein the asymmetric key pair is provisioned onto theIoT device and an associated private key stored within a memory of theIoT device at a time that IoT device is manufactured or during apredetermined time window after manufacturing; creating at least one DNSrecord for the IoT device; assigning a domain name associated with theinternet protocol (“IP”) address to the IoT device; storing theidentifier, IP address, the domain name, and the public key in the atleast one DNS record; and providing confirmation of the registration tothe IoT device.

In some aspects, the at least one DNS record is a TLSA record.

In some aspects, the identifier, IP address, and the public key isobtained at a cloud-based DNS-registration interface associated with theDNS server.

In some aspects, a device for registering an internet of things (“IoT”)device with a domain name system (“DNS”) registry is disclosed. Thedevice can comprise a memory containing instructions; and at least oneprocessor, operably connected to the memory, the executes theinstructions to perform operations comprising: obtaining, at a DNSserver, an identifier, IP address, and a public key of an asymmetric keypair associated with the IoT device from a network gateway device thatis in communication with the IoT device, wherein the asymmetric key pairis provisioned onto the IoT device and an associated private key storedwithin a memory of the IoT device at a time that IoT device ismanufactured or during a predetermined time window after manufacturing;creating at least one DNS record for the IoT device; assigning a domainname associated with the internet protocol (“IP”) address to the IoTdevice; storing the identifier, IP address, the domain name, and thepublic key in the at least one DNS record; and providing confirmation ofthe registration to the IoT device.

In some aspects, a method of authenticating a message produced by aninternet of things (“IoT”) device is disclosed. The method can compriseobtaining the message from an IoT device, the message having beencryptographically signed by a private key of an asymmetric key pairassociated with the IoT device and the message comprising an identifierof the IoT device and a data payload; obtaining a public key of theasymmetric key pair stored in at least one domain name system (“DNS”)record associated with the IoT device; and authenticating the messageusing the public key.

In some aspects, the at least one DNS record is TLSA or SMIMEA recordtype and the at least one DNS record is signed using DNSSEC.

In some aspects, a device of authenticating a message produced by aninternet of things (“IoT”) device is disclosed. The device can comprisea memory containing instructions; and at least one processor, operablyconnected to the memory, that executes the instructions to performoperations comprising: obtaining the message from an IoT device, themessage having been cryptographically signed by a private key of anasymmetric key pair associated with the IoT device and the messagecomprising an identifier of the IoT device and a data payload; obtaininga public key of the asymmetric key pair stored in at least one domainname system (“DNS”) record associated with the IoT device; andauthenticating the message using the public key.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates an IOT environment including an IOT service,according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an example internal organization environment (denoted by“Company A”) having one or more IoT devices that can utilize an IOTservice, according to various implementations.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example IoT registration process with the DNS,according to aspects consistent with the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example data stream verification process usingDNS and DANE, according to aspects consistent with the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B shows an example discovery process that can allow forthe extension of DNS to transparently interact with search engines, inaccordance with aspects consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration for a computerdevice, that can be used to perform one or more of the processes of theIoT service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the presentteachings are described by referring mainly to examples of variousimplementations thereof. However, one of ordinary skill in the art wouldreadily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to,and can be implemented in, all types of information and systems, andthat any such variations do not depart from the true spirit and scope ofthe present teachings. Moreover, in the following detailed description,references are made to the accompanying figures, which illustratespecific examples of various implementations. Logical and structuralchanges can be made to the examples of the various implementationswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present teachings.The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense and the scope of the present teachings is defined by theappended claims and their equivalents.

The Internet utilizes communication processes, such as Domain NamingSystem (DNS) related standards, that can be leveraged in a number ofways to support data communications, device discovery and privacyprotection. Aspects of the present disclosure are related to an Internetof Things (IOT) service. According to aspects, the IOT service enablesinteractions between entities on the Internet and IOT capabilities, manyof these incorporating new uses of DNS related processes. The IOTservice includes a bundle of services that allow IOT devices to beregistered, authenticated, and securely communicate with consumingentities and users. The IOT service utilizes DNS processes and servicesto register and authenticate the IOT devices. In addition tocapabilities based on new techniques of leveraging existingInternet-related processes, new capabilities can be defined that wouldextend those standards or provide capabilities that are not addressed bystandards. The combination of these capabilities meets commonly foundrequirements for IOT security, privacy, communications, and dataprocessing.

FIG. 1 illustrates an IOT environment 100 including an IOT service 115,according to various aspects of the present disclosure. While FIG. 1illustrates various components contained in the IOT environment 100,FIG. 1 illustrates one example of an IOT environment and additionalcomponents can be added and existing components can be removed.

As illustrated, the IOT environment 100 can include a number of IOTdevices 105. The IOT devices 105 can be any type of electronic devicethat is capable of communicating with other electronic devices. Forexample, the IOT devices 105 can include a wide variety of devices suchas conventional computing device, smart phones, appliances (e.g.washer/dryers that utilize network communications, smart thermostatsystems, etc.), sensors (e.g. remote monitoring heart monitoringimplants, biochip transponders, automobiles sensors, etc.), and thelike.

In aspects, the IOT devices 105 can include the necessary hardware andsoftware to directly communicate with an IOT service 115. In thisexample, the IOT devices can include the necessary hardware and softwareto communicate with the IOT service 115 using various protocolssupported by the IOT service such as publish-subscribe messagingprotocols, i.e., Message Queue Telemetry Transport (“MQTT”), and DomainName System (“DNS”) processes and services. Likewise, the IOT devicescan be connected to an intermediary, such as a gateway 110. In thisexample, the gateway 110 can include the necessary hardware and softwareto communicate with the IOT devices 105 and the necessary hardware andsoftware to communicate with the IOT service utilizing various protocolssupported by the IOT service such as MQTT and DNS processes andservices.

The Domain Name System (“DNS”) is the part of the Internetinfrastructure that translates human-readable domain names into theInternet Protocol (“IP”) numbers needed to establish TCP/IPcommunication over the Internet. DNS allows users to refer to web sites,and other resources, using easier to remember domain names, such as“www.example.com”, rather than the numeric IP addresses associated witha website, e.g., 192.0.2.78, and assigned to computers on the Internet.Each domain name can be made up of a series of character strings (e.g.,labels) separated by dots. The order of the labels represents arelationship between domain names within the DNS hierarchy. Theright-most label in a domain name is known as the top-level domain(“TLD”). Examples of well-known TLDs are “com”; “net”; “org”; and thelike. Each TLD supports second-level domains, listed immediately to theleft of the TLD, e.g., the “example” level in “www.example.com”. Domainscan nest within the hierarchy for many levels. For example, eachsecond-level domain can include a number of third-level domains locatedimmediately to the left of the second-level domain, e.g. the “www” levelin www.example.com. The labels in a domain name include one or morecharacters, each of which may either be an ASCII character or alanguage-specific character (e.g., Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and Latinletters with diacritics (e.g., e)). Domain names represented, in wholeor in part, by language-specific characters are called InternationalizedDomain Names (IDNs). While not yet available, potential IDN versions ofwell-known TLDs, such as “.com,” “.net,” and “.org.” could also becreated.

The responsibility for operating each TLD, including maintaining aregistry of the second-level domains within the TLD, is delegated usinga hierarchy of DNS services with different entities acting as the“registry” or “authoritative” registry for a portion of the hierarchy toa particular organization, known as a domain name registry (“registry”).The registry is primarily responsible for answering queries for IPaddresses associated with domains (“resolving”), typically through DNSservers that maintain such information in large databases, and foroperating its top-level domain.

For most TLDs, in order for end-users to obtain a domain name, thatdomain name has to be registered with a registry through a domain nameregistrar, an entity authorized to register Internet domain names onbehalf of end-users. Alternatively, an end-user can register a domainname indirectly through one or more layers of resellers. A registry mayreceive registrations from hundreds of registrars.

A zone file is a text file that describes a portion of the DNS called aDNS zone. A zone file is organized in the form of resource records (RR)and contains information that defines mappings between domain names andIP addresses and other resources. The format of zone files is defined bya standard, with each line typically defining a single resource record.A line begins with a domain name, but if left blank, defaults to thepreviously defined domain name. Following the domain name is the time tolive (TTL), the class (which is almost always “IN” for “internet” andrarely included), the type of resource record (A, MX, SOA, etc.),followed by type-specific data, such as the IPv4 address for A records.Comments can be included by using a semi-colon and lines can becontinued by using parentheses. There are also file directives that aremarked with a keyword starting with a dollar sign.

The DNS distributes the responsibility of assigning domain names andmapping those names to IP addresses by designating authoritative nameservers for each domain. Authoritative name servers are assigned to beresponsible for their particular domains, and in turn can assign otherauthoritative name servers for their sub-domains. This mechanismgenerally helps avoid the need for a single central registry to becontinually consulted and updated. The DNS resolution process allows forusers to be directed to a desired domain by a lookup process whereby theuser enters the desired domain, and the DNS returns appropriate IPnumbers. During the DNS resolution process, a request for a given domainname is routed from a resolver (e.g., a stub resolver) to an appropriateserver (e.g., a recursive resolver) to retrieve the IP address. Toimprove efficiency, reduce DNS traffic across the Internet, and increaseperformance in end-user applications, the DNS supports DNS cache serversthat store DNS query results for a period of time determined by thetime-to-live (TTL) of the domain name record in question. Typically,such caching DNS servers, also called DNS caches, also implement therecursive algorithm necessary to resolve a given name starting with theDNS root through to the authoritative name servers of the querieddomain. Internet service providers (ISPs) typically provide recursiveand caching DNS servers for their customers. In addition, homenetworking routers may implement DNS caches and proxies to improveefficiency in the local network.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the IOT service 115 canassign a domain name to each of the IOT devices 105. The domain name canthen be associated with the IP address of the IOT device 105. Domainnames, i.e., qnames, can also be assigned by an entity owner of the IoTdevice 105. To facilitate the registration of IOT devices, an IOTservice can provide an application programming interface (API) thatperforms DNS registration of IOT devices on behalf of devices andgateways (DNS API not shown). The IOT service 115 can provide a domainname that uniquely identifies the devices as IOT devices and also showsthe relationship of the devices. For example, the IOT service 115 canestablish a domain for IOT devices such as “.iotservice.example.com.” Asthe devices are registered with the IOT service 115, the IOT serviceassigns the domain name and creates the DNS records for the IOT devices.For example, if the IOT devices 105 are owned by “Company A,” the IOTservice can create a domain “companyA.iotservice.example.com.” The IOTservice 115 can assign a unique domain name to each of the IOT devices,for example, “iotdevicel.companyA.iotservice.example.com.” The domainand the domain names for each of the IOT devices allow consumers 140 tolocate and communicate with the IOT devices 105.

The IOT service 115 can also include an API 125 to allow a user 130 tocommunicate with the IOT service 115. The user 130 can communicate withthe IOT service to establish the services of the IOT service 115,register devices 105, and the like. The IOT service 115 can also includean API 135 to allow the consumers 140 to locate and communicate with theIOT devices 105. In some aspects, one or more services provided by theIOT service 115 can reside in the cloud.

FIG. 2 shows an example internal organization environment 200 (denotedby “Company A”) having one or more IoT devices that can utilize an IOTservice, according to various implementations. As illustrated in FIG. 2,the internal organization environment can include a first IoT device,shown as sensor 205, and a second IoT device, shown as actuator 210,which are in communication with a gateway device 215. The IoT devicescan be utilized by Company A in daily operations. For example, thesensor 205 can monitor the temperature of a piece of manufacturingequipment and the actuator 210 can be a component of the manufacturingequipment, e.g. cooling fan. Company A can desire to monitor and utilizethe IoT devices using a IoT service.

In this example, the IoT service can be implemented as an IoT servicescontainer. An IoT services container provides one or more services to anIoT device via one or more APIs. The one or more services can include,but are not limited to, an administrative service, a datameeter service,a crawler service, a messaging service, a DNS service. The IoT servicescontainer 220 is arranged between the gateway device 215 and a backoffice computer 225 and a control computer 230. In some example, the IoTservices container can be included in the gateway device 215. The IoTservices container can be hosted by Company A or can be hosted by aseparate entity or organization.

In this example, the sensor 205, such as a temperature sensor, candetect the temperature of a particular area of Company A and sendtemperature readings, either continuously or periodically, to the to thegateway device 215 through a data feed. The gateway device 215 cancommunicate with the IoT services container 220, through a device API235 over a communications protocol, i.e., TCP/IP, to provide the datafeed to subscribers/consumers thereof. The back office computer 225,through a consume API 240 of the IoT services container 220 over acommunications protocol, i.e., TCP/IP, may be operable to performvarious functions, including, but are not limited, administrative,record keeping, etc. The control computer 230, through an administratorAPI 245 of the Iot services container 220 over a communication protocol,i.e., TCP/IP, may be operable to monitor the temperature from the sensor205 and determine that a particular action is warranted based itsreadings. In this example, if the control computer 230 determines thatthe temperature monitored by the sensor 205 is too high, the controlcomputer 230 can send a signal through the IoT services container 220 tothe actuator 210 to lower the temperature by turning on a fan for agiven time period

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the IOT service 115 canutilize DNS process and services, such as DNS-based Authentication ofNamed Entities (DANE) and DNSSEC to register and authenticate IOTdevices, this enabling authentication of data received from IOT devicesand also supporting encryption of data sent by IOT devices. DANEprovides a mechanism for associating the public key or a certificatecontaining a public key with an IOT device that can be identified bymeans of a unique domain name associated with a device. This associationof a device with its public key or certificate containing a public keyis stored in DNS registry records, either TLSA or SMIMEA, that areidentified by the unique domain name associated with a device

The need for IoT device authentication becomes more apparent as more andmore IoT devices are attached to the Internet. As a result, it becomesless and less likely that there will be direct communication between theIoT devices and the applications that will be used to monitor andcontrol them. The current model for authentication is based on verifyingthe endpoints of the communication where typically the client verifiesthe X.509 certificate provided by the server against the local truststore, and the server verifies the client based on a credential. Thecredential provided by the client is typically a username/passwordcombination, an API key, or an X.509 client certificate. Wheninteraction between the IoT device and the application is separatedmessaging middleware, such as a message bus of a middleware container,the current model requires placing trust in the message bus. The IoTdevice authenticates with the message bus and the applicationauthenticates with the message bus. However, since there is no directcommunication between the IoT device and the application, the IoT devicenever authenticates with the application and the application neverauthenticates with the IoT device. It is also possible that many,untrusted entities may exist between the IoT device and the application.For instance, due to unreliable or intermittent communication, it may bedesirable to introduce multiple gateways and/or multiple containers,each of which are capable of storing a message until network conditionsare such that the message can be forwarded along the path towards thedestination.

As a consequence, two entities, i.e, the IoT device and the application(or another IoT device or a container), would benefit by a mechanism ofvalidating that the information they receive came from the expectedsource and was not modified in transit, even when the information passedthrough one or more untrusted intermediaries. The approach to validatingthe information sources in these scenarios taught in the inventiondescribed here-in is based on creating a binding between a name and apublic key in a globally accessible registry. This validation mechanismcan be arranged such that one entity, i.e., the IoT device, firstgenerates a private and public key pair. The private key is storedlocally within an electronic memory of the IoT device. The name of theIoT device and the public key is sent to a globally accessible registry,i.e., a DNS registry, where it is stored. When the IoT device hasinformation to send, the IoT device generates a payload in anapplication specific way. A cryptographic signature is computed over thename of the IoT device and the payload. The resulting message is thecombination of the name of the IoT device, the payload, and thecryptographic signature.

The message is then forwarded towards the recipient, i.e., anapplication, another IoT device, or a container. When received by therecipient, the name of the IoT device, the payload, and the signatureare extracted from the message. The public key of the IoT device isretrieved from the globally accessible registry using the name of theIoT device as the key. The public key is used by the recipient to verifythe source of the message and that the message has not been modified intransit. Every entity has a private/public key pair. The private key isused by the entity for signing data to be sent and decrypting data thatis received, and the public key is used by entities wishing to verifythe authenticity of signed data received from an entity and/or toencrypt encrypted data to be sent to an entity.

DANE can be used for authentication and privacy for entities registeredinto the DNS as described above, i.e., IoT devices, containers, andapplications. DANE provides a standards-based mechanism for storing andretrieving the public keys used in authentication and encryptionmechanisms. The public key for registered entities is available from DNSby querying the DNS for the DANE defined record corresponding to theentity. The record to be retrieved is identified in the query using aderivation of the domain name (qname) as the search value. A retrievedrecord containing the public key for an entity is the one created by theIOT registration process. These records will be of a type defined by theDANE protocol, either TLSA or SMIMEA. Messages (data) that are digitallysigned with the corresponding private key of the IoT device can beauthenticated using the public key that is registered in DNS.

The integrity of the authentication and encryption processes describedherein relies on trusting that only the entity to which a private keyapplies will use that private key to sign messages or for decryptingcommunications (messages) received by the entity. Entities are expectedto keep the private key in secure storage in which only the entity hasaccess. An entity can use the private and public keys as part of acommunication using a secure transport, TLS/DTLS. This presentdisclosure also applies to messages originated from an entity and whichhave been signed by the entity as a means of assuring the authenticityof such messages. Additionally, a device (A) could encrypt messagesusing the public key of another device (B) so as to protect the privacyof the data contained in the messages. Since only device B has theprivate key, only device B is able to decrypt the message.

Entities communicate with each other via IOT message services. Oneexample of such a service is a publish/subscribe messaginginfrastructure on which a feed-based messaging protocol is based. Inthis example, an entity can publish messages to a specific feed based ona feed identifier (feed ID) that is unique within the messaging service.Entities subscribed to a feed identified by that feed identifier willreceive messages published to the feed. The message data published tofeeds can be described with a shared ontology that standardizes theterms used for the data elements contained in messages, i.e.,temperature, speed, etc. Message flows are typically one-way. Two-waymessaging uses two one-way flows i.e. for two entities to communicate,each would subscribe to a feed to which the other publishes messages.Entities can be broadly characterized as IoT devices, applications,services, and containers (IoT service containers), and can be groupedinto a variety of arrangements including, but not limited to thefollowing: a device (such as a thermometer) that publishes data (such astemperature) to a feed, which then provides that data to an entityinterested in using that data (a web app that displays currenttemperature); an entity (a light bulb) that can be controlled viamessages it receives from a feed it subscribes to which a controllingentity (Web app) publishes control messages (toggle light bulb on andoff).

FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example IoT registration process with the DNS,according to aspects consistent with the present disclosure. Once theprocess begins, in 305 an IoT device is provisioned with apublic/private key pair. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, IoTdevice 350 can comprise a device ID and public/private key pair. The IoTdevice 350 can be provisioned with the public/private key pair in avariety of ways including: (1) embedded in IoT device 350 atmanufacturing; (2) generated by the IoT device 350; (3)generated/regenerated by the IoT device 305 based on “factory reset,”time-to-live configuration, or request from an authorized entity, (4)generated by a third party (e.g. IoT service), and the like.

In 310, the IoT device transmits registration data to an IoT service.For example, the IoT device 350 can communicates with a registrationservice 355 of an IoT service 360. For instance, the IoT device 350 cancommunicate registration data such as the device ID, and the public keyto the registration service 355. Likewise, the IoT device 350 cantransmit any additional registration data to the registration service355, which can assist in the registration, such as IoT device type,location, owner of the IoT device, type of data collected by the IoTdevice etc.

Once received, in 315, the IoT service can map the registration data toa unique identifier in the IoT service. For example, the registrationservice 355 can be configured to map the device ID of the IoT device 350to a “qname,” which is a valid identifier for the DNS 365. Asillustrated in FIG. 3B, the DNS 365 can be part of the IoT service 360.Likewise, the DNS 365 can be a standalone service and hosted by aseparate entity.

Next, in 320, the public key of the IoT device can be registered withthe DNS service. For example, the registration service 355 can act onbehalf of the IoT device 350 to register its public key in the DNS 365.In this process, the registration service 310 can first map the deviceID of the IoT device 350 to a unique qname. The qname can be a valid DNSidentifier, i.e., domain name. The registration service 355 can theninteract with the appropriate DNS server to create DNS entries for qnameincluding one to contain the public key for the IoT device 350. The DNSrecord could be either a TLSA or SMIMEA record. The registration service310 can be service provided by a DNS registry or another entity.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example data stream verification process usingDNS and DANE, according to aspects consistent with the presentdisclosure. Once the process begins, in 405 an IoT device signs amessage with a private key. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, IoTdevice 450 can publish data to a data feed. The IoT device 450 caninclude an IoT device ID, a private key of a public/private key pair,data, and a feed ID that is used to identify the data that is generatedby the IoT device 450 to be published. The feed ID to which the IoTdevice 450 publishes can be configured by an out-of-band process. Thepublic/private key pair can be generated by the processes discussedabove in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The public key can be published in a DNSSECsecured zone file (SMIMEA or TLSA with usage type either 1 or 3 andmatching type 0 [“1 0 0”, “1 1 0”, “3 0 0”, “3 1 0”]). The usage typemust be either 1 or 3 to indicate that the public key is the actualpublic key for the device. The selector can be either type 0 or 1 asboth formats include the public key. The matching type must be 0 so thatthe public key can be extracted from the data in the resource record.The message 525 can include the device ID, the feed ID, and the digitalsignature of the IoT device 450 (the message 525 signed by the privatekey of the IoT device 450).

In 410, the IoT device 450 sends the signed message 452 to an IoTservice. For example, the IoT device 450 can communicate with amessaging service 455 of an IoT service 460. For instance, the IoTdevice 450 can communicate the signed message 452 such as the device ID,the feed ID to the messaging service 455.

Once received, in 415, the IoT service 460 can publish the signedmessage to a data feed 465. The IoT service 460 can also receiveadditional signed messages from other IoT devices 480 and publish thoseadditional signed messages to additional data feeds 485. The digitallysigned message 452 from the IoT device 450 and from other IoT devices480 can then be published to the feed identified by the feed ID. Themessaging service 455 can include records for the feed for a particularfeed ID from the IoT device 450 as well as other feeds associated withother feed IDs from other IoT devices 480.

Next, in 420, the subscribers (also called consumers or recipients) 470,i.e., applications, other IoT devices, IoT service containers, and otherentities, can subscribe to a feed identified by a specific feed ID andreceive messages published to that feed. When the subscriber 470receives a message, the subscriber 470 uses the IoT device ID from themessage to determine the qname for the IoT device in 425. The subscriber470 performs a DNS query to the DNS 475 to look up the DNS record forthe qname that contains the public key for the IoT device 450. At 430,the subscriber 470 then uses the public key to verify the digitalsignature on the message 452. In some instances, the message 452 may becontained within another message (not shown) with the containing messagesigned by the IoT device/subscriber which generated the containingmessage. This allows for a method for data provenance as signatures forall messages signers provides evidence of the routing/handling of amessage.

In some aspects, an IoT device has associated with it a DNS service(SRV) record, (defined in RFC 2782) or a text (TXT) record that is usedto define a location, i.e., a hostname and port number, of one or moreservices provided by the IoT device, to discover a gateway and IoTdevice. In such case, standard DNS queries based on the DNS-SD (definedin RFC 6763) standard can be used to discover those records. However,this mechanism has limitations in the flexibility and retrievalcapabilities of the search mechanism. In the case of IOT, it isdesirable that more powerful search mechanisms be available fordiscovering devices that are registered in the DNS. To support this, amethod is disclosed here-in for extending the DNS query mechanism tointeract with external search engines. FIGS. 5A and 5B shows an examplediscovery process that can allow for the extension of DNS to interacttransparently with search engines, in accordance with aspects consistentwith the present disclosure.

After the process begins, in 505, an application can format and send aDNS query to a DNS resolver. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, anapplication 550 running on a client device 552 can format and send a DNSquery 570 to a DNS resolver 560, i.e., a stub resolver, a recursive DNSserver, or other DNS resolver. The DNS query 570 can include somecharacteristics of the query format, the domain name being resolvedand/or the record type being requested that flags to the DNS resolver560 that the request is targeted for resolution via a search engine 565rather than be resolved by the DNS resolver 560. The DNS query 570 canbe a new query type or an existing query type with a flag that can beinterpreted by the DNS resolver 560 to send the query to a search engine565 for processing. In one example, the DNS query 570 can include afirst portion that includes search parameters that can be interpreted toindicate a specific external search engine to use. The DNS query 570 caninclude a second portion that includes information indicating a type ofsearch to be performed. The DNS query 570 can include a third portionthat includes a domain that is a flag that the DNS query 560 is intendedfor an external search. For example, the DNS query could be for the IPaddress that corresponds with a domain name, such as, return IP addressfor“myquery01-temperature-coordinates75-09-15-36-05-04.iot.search.mydomain.com.”

As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the DNS resolver 560 and the search engine565 can be part of an IOT service 555. Likewise, the DNS resolver 560and/or the search engine 565 can be part of other services or devices.

In 510, the DNS resolver receives the DNS query and determines if theDNS query is intended for the search engine. The mechanism whereby theDNS resolver 560 is able to determine that the DNS query 570 is intendedfor the search engine 560 can include the following examples. In oneexample, a domain name within the DNS query 570 can be formattedaccording to a particular naming convention where part of the domainname is a flag to indicate the external search engine to use. In anotherexample, a new DNS query type can be defined and supported by the DNSresolver 560, e.g. the stub resolver or the recursive DNS server, toallow for the DNS query in this new format to be searched by a searchengine 565 rather than resolved by a DNS resolver 560.

Then, 515, if the DNS query is intended for the search engine, the DNSresolver can form a search query and send the search query to the searchengine. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, for example, the DNS resolver 560 canthen interpret the DNS query 570 to form a query to the search engine565 indicated by the DNS query 570 and can send the query to the searchengine 565.

In 520, the search engine can process the search query, generate searchresults, and forward the results to the DNS server and or the requestor.For example, the search engine 565 can process the query and generates aresult of 0 or more IP addresses and/or domain names that serve as theresult of the query. The search engine 565 or the DNS resolver 560 canthen create a transient IP address that provides an interaction pointfor retrieving the search results and stores the search results at theinteraction point. For example, the DNS resolver 560 could store searchresults on the local machine and then return the IP address of the localmachine to the originating application 550.

The originating process can then use the returned IP address to retrievethe results of the query. For example, if the results are stored locallyby the DNS resolver, the returned IP address might be 127.0.0.1 and theoriginating process could retrieve them using a known port and folder,i.e.,127.0.0.1:9999/myquery-01-temperature-coordinates75-09-15-36-05-04.

In some aspects, processing for the IoT device can be arranged at one ormore edge locations (geographically dispersed) to reduce and simplifydata amount and load. For example, by running a container (a collectedset of IoT services assessable from a common location on the Internet)on edge locations allow the containers to get closer to production pointor IoT devices. The edge processing can allow for a reduction of thedata size in the path between the producer and the consumer thatprovides for a conservation of bandwidth resources. If processing is notrequired or is not reducing the data size, then arranging processing atedge location allows for the path between the producer and consumer tobe minimized so that the consumer gets the data as soon as possible.

The foregoing description is illustrative, and variations inconfiguration and implementation can occur to persons skilled in theart. For instance, the various illustrative logics, logical blocks,modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodimentsdisclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor canbe a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor can be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices,e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described can beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.For a software implementation, the techniques described herein can beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, subprograms,programs, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes,and so on) that perform the functions described herein. A module can becoupled to another module or a hardware circuit by passing and/orreceiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents.Information, arguments, parameters, data, or the like can be passed,forwarded, or transmitted using any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, and thelike. The software codes can be stored in memory units and executed byprocessors. The memory unit can be implemented within the processor orexternal to the processor, in which case it can be communicativelycoupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art.

For example, FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a hardware configurationfor a computer device 600, that can be used to perform one or more ofthe processes of the IoT service described above. While FIG. 6illustrates various components contained in the computer device 600,FIG. 6 illustrates one example of a computer device and additionalcomponents can be added and existing components can be removed.

The computer device 600 can be any type of computer devices, such asdesktops, laptops, servers, etc., or mobile devices, such as smarttelephones, tablet computers, cellular telephones, personal digitalassistants, etc. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the computer device 600 caninclude one or more processors 602 of varying core configurations andclock frequencies. The computer device 600 can also include one or morememory devices 604 that serve as a main memory during the operation ofthe computer device 600. For example, during operation, a copy of thesoftware that supports the IoT service can be stored in the one or morememory devices 604. The computer device 600 can also include one or moreperipheral interfaces 606, such as keyboards, mice, touchpads, computerscreens, touchscreens, etc., for enabling human interaction with andmanipulation of the computer device 600.

The computer device 600 can also include one or more network interfaces608 for communicating via one or more networks, such as Ethernetadapters, wireless transceivers, or serial network components, forcommunicating over wired or wireless media using protocols. The computerdevice 600 can also include one or more storage device 610 of varyingphysical dimensions and storage capacities, such as flash drives, harddrives, random access memory, etc., for storing data, such as images,files, and program instructions for execution by the one or moreprocessors 602.

Additionally, the computer device 600 can include one or more softwareprograms 612 that enable the functionality of the IoT service describedabove. The one or more software programs 612 can include instructionsthat cause the one or more processors 602 to perform the processesdescribed herein. Copies of the one or more software programs 612 can bestored in the one or more memory devices 604 and/or on in the one ormore storage devices 610. Likewise, the data, for example, DNS records,utilized by one or more software programs 612 can be stored in the oneor more memory devices 604 and/or on in the one or more storage devices610.

In implementations, the computer device 600 can communicate with one ormore IoT devices 614 via a network 616. The one or more IoT devices 614can be any types of devices as described above. The network 616 can beany type of network, such as a local area network, a wide-area network,a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, apublic switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wirelessnetwork, and any combination thereof. The network 616 can supportcommunications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols, such as TCP/IP, UDP, OSI, FTP, UPnP, NFS, CIFS, AppleTalk,and the like. The network 616 can be, for example, a local area network,a wide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, anintranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrarednetwork, a wireless network, and any combination thereof.

The computer device 600 can include a variety of data stores and othermemory and storage media as discussed above. These can reside in avariety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/orresident in) one or more of the computers or remote from any or all ofthe computers across the network. In some implementations, informationcan reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilledin the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers, or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate.

In implementations, the components of the computer device 600 asdescribed above need not be enclosed within a single enclosure or evenlocated in close proximity to one another. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the above-described componentry are examples only, asthe computer device 600 can include any type of hardware componentry,including any necessary accompanying firmware or software, forperforming the disclosed implementations. The computer device 600 canalso be implemented in part or in whole by electronic circuit componentsor processors, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on ortransmitted over a computer-readable medium as one or more instructionsor code. Computer-readable media includes both tangible, non-transitorycomputer storage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media can be any available tangible, non-transitory media thatcan be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation,such tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM,ROM, flash memory, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in theform of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by acomputer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc,optical disc, DVD, floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usuallyreproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically withlasers. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

While the teachings have been described with reference to examples ofthe implementations thereof, those skilled in the art will be able tomake various modifications to the described implementations withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope. The terms and descriptionsused herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meantas limitations. In particular, although the processes have beendescribed by examples, the stages of the processes can be performed in adifferent order than illustrated or simultaneously. Furthermore, to theextent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”,or variants thereof are used in the detailed description, such terms areintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”As used herein, the terms “one or more of” and “at least one of” withrespect to a listing of items such as, for example, A and B, means Aalone, B alone, or A and B. Further, unless specified otherwise, theterm “set” should be interpreted as “one or more.” Also, the term“couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or directconnection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, thatconnection can be through a direct connection, or through an indirectconnection via other devices, components, and connections.

1. A method of authenticating a message produced by an internet ofthings (“IoT”) device, the method comprising: obtaining the message froman IoT device, the message having been cryptographically signed by aprivate key of an asymmetric key pair associated with the IoT device andthe message comprising an identifier of the IoT device and a datapayload; obtaining a public key of the asymmetric key pair stored in atleast one domain name system (“DNS”) record associated with the IoTdevice; and authenticating the message using the public key.